Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, a certain character would have died a long time ago.
Warning: None, except this is unbeta-ed.
i. simple
His life had been easy.
Unlike many others that struggled to find who they were in this world, he had already been defined since he was born. His existence was for the clan and the clan only. He would eat, drink, breath and bleed for his clan. The clan's best interests were in his every movement.
There was simply no Fugaku. There was only Uchiha.
He was Clan Leader.
Pure and simple.
ii. playground
He thought often about other kids' everyday life.
Whenever he managed to steal a glance at them playing at Konoha public playground – a place that worked like a carefully-drawn distance, separating his world and theirs – he vaguely imagined how their lives were.
He wondered if they had to wake up at five for morning training because it's a shame on our clan if the heir is incompetent. Then they had to eat a breakfast that was supposed to be full of nutrition but tasted so bad they forced themselves to gulp it down. They must look utterly presentable and went to school and ace all the tests there. In the afternoon they came home and practice until they couldn't stand anymore then proceed to have another full-of-nutrition meal. Before going to sleep, instead of bedtime stories, they had to listen, to learn by heart what it took to be an excellent clan leader. At the end of the day, when they were sleeping, they would dream of a tomorrow full of exciting adventures.
Then again, the fact that they were inside the playground and he was outside probably told him all he needed to know.
iii. mirror
He had a fascination with mirror.
He was no narcissist; he was just trying to look for something. But for what exactly, he himself didn't know.
Whenever he looked at the mirror, he always mused that if the light was right and the mirror was at a particular angle and if he squinted hard enough, he might see that something. Maybe he could see a young boy who looked every bit mischievous with unruly black hair and lively black eyes and a grin that reached his eyes instead of a young boy with guarded eyes, stiff shoulders, carefully combed hair and a mouth that was never used for anything besides talking and eating.
Weird, he thought. Who was the stranger – a boy whose appearance was proper in all the wrong ways – that stared back at him every time?
Where is he?
Wasn't mirror supposed to exactly reflect whatever object had contact with it?
iv. love
It wasn't love at first sight.
In fact, he didn't even remember when he first met her or if he did meet her at all. It had always been a blur pool of pale skin, dark eyes and dark hair to him. He made no effort to see which one had the most beautiful pale skin, dark eyes and dark hair because aren't they all the same.
But one day, he recognized her.
No, she recognized him.
It started normal enough. They were having a casual conversation, one between teammates and clan members. However, he had realized something odd about the girl that looked like many others in their clan.
The light wasn't right, there was no particular angle and he wasn't squinting but he could hear himself she was listening to and he could see himself reflected in her clear dark eyes – clearer than any mirror.
Himself, not Clan Leader.
Suddenly, there was no longer a blur in front of him.
There was Mikoto and there was Fugaku.
And he was in love.
v. her
He had every intention to let her go.
He desired her bright smile, her gentle voice and her tender touch so much it hurt. He desired her warm presence whenever she wasn't by his side. He desired the peace she blanketed his heart with. He desired pieces of Fugaku she brought out of him.
He desired a happily-ever-after with her.
And that's why he must let her go.
He could already see far ahead what was waiting for her as an Uchiha wife. All of her being would be devoured completely until there was only Clan Leader's wife left.
Fugaku didn't want it to happen. He wouldn't allow his selfishness to ruin her life.
But Mikoto had reminded him of why she was the woman he loved.
She cupped his face in her dainty hands that he desperately loved and whispered, "Fugaku, everyone is allowed happiness."
It's almost ridiculous how her words easily shattered his will.
vi. alive
He would never forget their wedding day.
It had been a full moon, the brightest and most beautiful he'd ever seen. Fugaku liked to think he was receiving a blessing from heaven for the happiest day in his life.
But, he murmured to himself, even the moon couldn't compare to the light and beauty of Mikoto that day.
She was breath-taking in every way possible.
For him and him only.
They explored each other and connected themselves beyond words and touches as she murmured sweet I love you between kisses, as he caressed every fiber of her being and as Clan Leader – for the first time – disappeared among their swirling passion, leaving only Fugaku to savor this divine moment.
He came alive in her embrace.
vii. family
Fugaku still remembered the first time he held his two sons in his arms.
They had been little, fragile beings that blinked curiously at him, slightly tilting their heads often as they did so. Their chubby fingers tried to reach his face and their puffy mouths formed incoherent words. Large onyx eyes looked up at him with all the innocence that only existed in babies.
Fugaku felt happiness and pride clutch his heart.
And he couldn't even start to describe his feeling on those nights, when Mikoto – Sasuke in her arms – rested her head on his shoulder – Itachi sitting beside him – and they talked about everything and nothing under that starry sky.
He never knew peace could be this simple.
He had been under the control of Clan Leader but at least, his family was his very own choice.
viii. irony
Itachi wasn't cut out to be a shinobi.
Many would have laughed at him if he told them this. They would tell him if that boy – who graduated at seven, mastered the sharingan at eight, became chuunin at ten and ANBU captain at thirteen – wasn't cut out to be a shinobi, who would?
Then again, they didn't witness that very same child come back from missions with blood staining his uniform and an equally stained kunai in his trembling hands. They didn't witness that golden child – curled up under his blanket – cry in silence for those he had killed.
They simply didn't witness bit and bit of sanity and humanity start to slip out of his eyes.
Clan Leader laughed satisfyingly because of the genius that was bestowed upon the clan by Kami-sama.
Fugaku laughed bitterly because of the irony of it all.
ix. agreement
He was angry.
No, that was an understatement.
He was beyond mad when he found out about what Konoha had been doing to his clan.
So this oppression and separation were Konoha's answer to years of many Uchiha bleeding and dying for the village's sake; years of protecting the village with their lives; years of children shedding tears for their dead parents and vowing to grow up heroic like that.
So because they were so damned powerful and did a fucking good job at guarding the village, this was Konoha's answer?
He couldn't accept it and didn't want to either.
Why couldn't Konoha understand that, to the village, the Uchiha might be just one of its many clans but to the Uchiha, Konoha was their only home?
If this village really wasn't able to comprehend that then it had another thing coming.
When Uchiha Fugaku finally agreed to the coup d'état, proposed by the elders, he realized that this was the first time Fugaku and Clan Leader came to an agreement.
x. shinobi
The day after the rebellion was decided, Fugaku took a day off from his usual duty.
He spent that day on walking around the village in his jounin uniform, Konoha hitai-ate proudly tied around his forehead.
He visited the jounin headquarter to have a little chat with his old teammates, much to their surprise. He discussed with Hokage-sama about the Police Force. He came to other clans' compounds to have nice diplomatic talks with their heads. He watched possible legends-in-the-making at the academy. He lingered at the training grounds where he used to train – on rare occasions – with his genin team. He had snacks at those sweets shops where he wasn't allowed to go as a child.
And when the day came to an end, his legs led him to the Hokage Mountain.
Standing at the top of the mountain, he watched as lanterns were lit, creating lines of light and painting a beautiful picture of Konoha at night. He listened as shops' owners chatted happily among the noise of closing doors. He closed his eyes, letting the night breeze embrace him and dry the tears that weren't there.
Fugaku allowed himself a moment of remembering why he loved Konoha in the first place.
Then, slowly but surely, he untied his hitai-ate and brought out a kunai.
And as any self-respecting traitor would do, he slashed across the Konoha symbol.
A Konoha shinobi died that day.
xi. father
Sometimes, he suspected, Itachi was the personification of his deeply-buried thought about clan leader and Uchiha.
Ridiculously ironic, Fugaku realized, the clan's pride wasn't cut out to be an Uchiha either.
He had seen the way Itachi talk about Konoha. Gently. Lovingly. Proudly. Openly. And all the things he wasn't when he was reminded of his role as a future clan leader and his responsibility to the clan. Whenever talked about the Uchiha clan, Itachi's eyes would always narrow for a split second – so quick that no one could catch that.
Clan Leader was blind but Fugaku wasn't.
He noticed many nights when his first son sneaked out of the compound; the slight change in his behavior; the way his eyes engulfed in guilt when he was greeted warmly by his clansmen; the sadness when he hugged his mom and poked his brother's forehead. He noticed that something Fugaku had forgotten about long ago when Itachi – not Uchiha – looked at him in the eyes.
Despite Clan Leader's better judgment that Itachi must be stopped, Fugaku – as a father who failed his sons too much – let him choose his path.
xii. future
As fate would have it, Sasuke was born to be the exact opposite of Itachi.
Not as talented. Not as intelligent. Not as subtle. Not as gentle. But twice as proud of being an Uchiha.
The irony wasn't lost on Fugaku.
But, even though his little boy was as Uchiha as one could be, he was shining in the pool of darkness.
Innocent. Trusting. Loving. Caring.
Too much for his own good.
It would be his downfall someday but at this moment, Fugaku could only be astonished at the fact that an Uchiha boy, child of Clan Leader no less, possessed such precious traits.
When Sasuke smiled brightly at his fellow clan members, when Sasuke followed his brother around with such admiration, when Sasuke hugged his mother with all the love in the world and when Sasuke proudly, respectably showed him his new techniques, Fugaku could feel something break inside him.
He wondered if Sasuke was supposed to be the personification of his love and hope for the clan.
People assumed that he only turned his attention to his second son because all expectation was lost on the first one. They couldn't be more wrong.
Clan Leader saw failure.
Fugaku saw future.
xiii. life
He had anticipated this ending.
Itachi came to his parents' room with blood staining his uniform and an equally stained sword in his trembling hands. The only difference was that the blood on his son belonged not to enemies but to his own kin. Though, he supposed, in a way they were his enemies on the road to peace.
But Itachi's shaking hands and Itachi's unrestrained tears reminded him of a gentleness like no other.
And Fugaku told one of his greatest prides just as much.
Then he embraced Mikoto and their worlds, together, faded out in the silence of Itachi's crying.
As his world turned bright and white, a mischievous young boy with unruly dark hair stood before him, grinning.
Reflected in the boy's lively black eyes was fragments of his life.
A lonely boy born with the destiny of a clan leader.
A young man found himself lost in his own life.
A man unable to bring happiness to his family.
A clan leader failed to protect his clan.
A shinobi betrayed his village.
A person that could only express his true feelings in the last moment.
Aa, Fugaku smiled back at the boy, but it was a life worth living.
A/N: This piece was inspired by Naruto 590 since Itachi's sob story didn't touch me as much as his parents' last moment.
I believe that his father was seen as someone strict and slightly cruel at the beginning because we were seeing him through Sasuke's eyes, the second child that was supposedly neglected by his father. Chap 590 pretty much proved that his father loved both of them equally. However, as clan leader, he was forced to pay more attention to the more talented Itachi; not to mention him being the first child. Also that thing about the coup d'état. From my point of view, Fugaku probably wasn't the only one to come up with this. This decision was come up with and finalized by the higher-ups of the clan. I don't think that being a clan leader allows you to do anything you want, as proven by Madara's case. He was, and arguably still is, the most powerful Uchiha of all time but once his ideal went against the clan's best interests, they abandoned him.
Anyway, this is my take on Fugaku's character. I apologize for any OOC-ness/incoherence/grammar errors/misspellings/weird wording/etc. I may come back to edit something here and there if I have enough time and motivation lol.
Finally, review is much appreciated :3.